Chapter 177: Recruitment

"This is the official badge of a member of the Shadow Unit. One line on it represents an entry-level member, which is equivalent to having the rights of a Team Rocket Captain."

"However, you haven't completed the trial mission yet, so you haven't been assigned subordinates. You can choose to recruit them yourself or simply continue on your own."

Umbra handed Cain the badge that recognized him as an official member of the Shadow Unit, then collected the reserve badge he had before.

With this, Cain officially became a member of Team Rocket, and he wasn't starting at the very bottom. He hadn't yet finished his time on Trial Island and already held the rights of a Team Rocket Captain.

It's likely that, in Team Rocket's records, Cain's status had changed from a simple soldier to Captain.

Although the Captain rank is still one of the lower levels in Team Rocket, at least he was no longer at the very bottom, right?

Furthermore, by rule, a Captain should have five subordinates assigned, but Cain only had the rights, not the benefits. If he wanted subordinates, he'd have to recruit them himself.

For others, this might be troublesome, but for Cain, he preferred to recruit his own subordinates rather than accept those assigned by the organization. In fact, he felt more comfortable with this option.

After all, on Trial Island, Cain already had a small force waiting for him.

"Can I recruit the trial participants on Trial Island?" Cain wanted to confirm, since Team Rocket had invested significantly in this generation of trial participants.

Umbra looked at Cain with a meaningful expression and replied in a deep tone, "You can."

Cain knew very well what he had done on Trial Island, and Team Rocket's commander-in-chief, Viper, was also one of Umbra's friends.

On Trial Island, some of the youths had formed alliances, reflecting the internal situation of Team Rocket. As long as there was a strong figure with power and authority, others only dared to conspire in the shadows, without acting openly.

Cain also had a group of "subordinates" on Trial Island, but how many of them would still obey his orders after his long absence?

However, this generation of trial participants had been carefully selected by Team Rocket. Excluding those brought in by the Officers, even the selected common citizens exceeded the previous generations in talent, like Cain.

Additionally, the starting Pokémon granted on Trial Island were of higher quality.

In previous generations, orange-quality Pokémon were the most common, while this time, the starting Pokémon were yellow-quality, and a few lucky ones received green-quality Pokémon, like Cain.

In short, the participants of this generation had great potential. If Cain managed to recruit them under his command, in a few years, they could take on important responsibilities.

If Cain achieved first place in the end, recruiting some of the top trial participants, and formed his own force in a new location, he would have a near-perfect setup.

The only requirement was having enough strength.

"Now your information in Team Rocket has changed, and you also have access to the mission system of the Shadow Unit. If you're interested, you can take a look, but make sure to act within your limits. Right now, your priority should be strengthening yourself and winning the final trial."

Cain nodded to show he understood. Umbra was right. Although he could complete many missions and earn many rewards, compared to receiving Team Rocket's support and establishing his own force in another region, everything else was trivial.

Besides, Cain didn't plan to accept difficult missions. If something convenient came up, he might consider it, but if the mission cost him days or even a week, it could backfire.

After all, only a month and a half remained for the final trial on Trial Island. Time is gold.

"And the reward for first place on Trial Island?" Cain hesitated a moment before asking about what interested him most: the starting Pokémon for first place.

Umbra looked at Cain with an enigmatic smile and said, "Do you have the resources to train another Pokémon from scratch now?"

Today, Cain had used a good-quality Sneasel, but it was clear the Pokémon had been recently caught and didn't have enough synchronization with its trainer.

"If you want it now, I can advance the Pokémon to you, but if you wait until the final trial ends, the Pokémon's quality may be even higher. The choice is yours."

Umbra presented Cain with a choice: receive a good-quality starting Pokémon now or wait a month and a half to potentially get one of higher quality.

In truth, Cain didn't need to decide. He already had enough Pokémon that required training. In a few days, his Skorupi would enter its growth phase. If he added another starting Pokémon just beginning its growth phase, by the end of the trial, neither Skorupi nor the starter Pokémon would be very useful.

It was better to focus his resources on training Skorupi. With a bit of luck, in this month and a half, it could catch up. With the addition of Miltank, Cain would have six main Pokémon, enough to face any situation.

So, Cain shook his head slowly, indicating he didn't need to choose. It was a question with an obvious answer.

Even if Cain already knew the answer, he had to ask, because, after all, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease," right?

Seeing Cain's refusal, Umbra nodded in satisfaction. Not everyone could resist the temptation of a starting Pokémon, but at least Cain's strategic vision left him satisfied.

Since the last time Umbra was ambushed by the League and barely escaped with his life, he had lost most of his subordinates. Those who survived were either seriously injured or no longer trustworthy.

Although Cain wasn't especially strong, Umbra had some confidence in him; otherwise, he wouldn't have told him so much today.

He wanted to recruit him under his command, and that was one of the purposes of this meeting.

The conversation between him and Sabrina hadn't been hidden from Cain, and he was sure that someone as astute as Cain would know what choice to make.

"Well, I've told you a lot today. I just want you to know that you should train well in the time that remains and prepare for the final trial. The reward will exceed your expectations."

With these words, Umbra concluded the conversation with Cain.

Once he finished speaking, Sabrina, already a bit impatient, waved her hand and used her psychic powers to teleport Cain out of the gym.

After teleporting him, Sabrina looked at Umbra seriously and asked, "So, he's your choice? Although he has good instincts and cunning, his strength is a bit weak; it doesn't seem like your style."

Umbra smiled mysteriously, without directly answering Sabrina's question.

"He's quite good. And you? Won't you send someone to stir things up a bit?"

Sabrina shook her head and said, "I don't care what they do. If they want to, let them handle it themselves; I won't give them any support."

(End of chapter)